Flight of the Piper
by Master-Magician
Summary: Piper's perspective on the vertibird flight to the Prydwen for the first time.


**Having sunken into a rut while doing my other work, I needed something new to work on to pull myself back out to be able to continue. So here is my first attempt at a Fallout story.**

 **Enjoy.**

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In all honesty, Piper wasn't sure if she should be bouncing off the walls excited or scared out of her mind. Probably a bit of both if she was remotely honest with herself.

Vertibirds were something Piper had never actually seen. Such things like these existed only in stories and the occasional intact book. Everyday people of the Commonwealth never saw one in person, at least if they did it was the rusty wreckage of a long trashed one.

To actually ride in a fully functional one, it was a near once in a lifetime opportunity chance for Piper, she might even be able to write an article for the paper about it later. People would love to hear about it, plus she could write something a bit more cheerful than the usual doom and gloom that was reality. A win-win as far as Piper was concerned.

This was just another example of the amazing, or crazy, crap that often accompanied being around Nathaniel on the road. Why just the other day the duo had encountered a super mutant behemoth. A freaking behemoth! As far as Piper thought, they were just a made up urban legend to keep people away from the highly irradiated Swan's Pond. Turned out radiation had been the least of their problems at the time.

It was a fight Piper really didn't want to remember ever again.

"I don't know if I can allow this soldier." The gruff voice of Paladin Danse carried itself over to Piper's ears.

Piper let out a quiet sigh. She knew this was going to be an issue, Piper had told Nathaniel as much on the way here.

After the arrival of the Brotherhood of Steel's airship, Nathaniel had began picking up a radio signal on his pip-boy for all members of the brotherhood to report in for duty. Nathaniel himself told Piper he didn't consider himself that much of a member despite what he said to Danse, but the man thought it would be worth looking into.

Naturally he invited Piper along for the ride like he often did.

One slight problem. Serious or not, Nathaniel was an initiate of the brotherhood. So in their eyes he was one of their soldiers as much as Haylen or Danse.

Piper herself? Not so much.

"I cannot allow a civilian to come with us." Danse further explained, for probably about the third time since they got up here.

Nathaniel was having none of that. "If she wants to come along, she goes where I go." Piper almost regretted the fact that Nathaniel knew her well enough to know how badly she wanted to come with him.

Having spent some time around Nathaniel, Piper was able to quickly tell when he was not going to budge when someone argued what he said. Piper may have been the only one to see it but right now but, even with Danse in full power armor, Nathaniel stood taller than the brotherhood paladin.

Danse could complain all he wanted, Nathaniel wasn't going to back down.

Piper was considering just saying she'd stay behind. It wasn't worth causing Nathaniel so much trouble, especially when the brotherhood could help him find his son. The only thing stopping her from doing just that was her own curiosity. She wanted to see just what was it that the Brotherhood of Steel called their headquarters.

Neither did she want to leave Nathaniel's presence. He was going into someplace new and maybe strange, and she was supposed to be watching his back at times like these. So she had every right to be there.

Even to her own mind, Piper's reasoning sounded weak.

"Fine, but I cannot promise a civilian will receive a very warm welcome." Hearing Danse finally relent brought Piper's mind back to the two men.

The power armor clad soldier climbed aboard the vehicle while Nathaniel moved to the opposite side, a smug grin gracing his lips.

Piper stared on in shock, it was a testament to Nathaniel's skill in persuasion that he actually got the rough as sandpaper soldier to back down. Was this guy a man or a god in a man suit?

"Milady, your chariot awaits." Nathaniel beckoned her over with a sweep of the arm, that victorious smirk never fading for a moment.

While Piper may not be entirely sure what a chariot was, she hurried over to the vertibird. It was not necessary for Nathaniel to kneel down and give her a boost into the aircraft but Piper humored him and his more chivalrous acts from time to time.

Not for the first time, Piper found herself why there weren't more men around like Nathaniel. Her thoughts on the subject, like they always did, almost instantly retaliated with remembering Nathaniel wasn't from here. Two hundred years changed a lot apparently.

The interior of the vertibird was about as tiny as Piper figured. Especially with the bulk of Danse's armor taking up so much room. The soldier himself was seated at the minigun on the opposite side. There was really nowhere else to sit beside a small bench between the two doors.

After Piper was in place, she noticed there was nothing to hold you in the seat. Were you supposed to just hold on for the whole ride? For that matter what if you were going into battle and were holding a weapon? Do you just sit there and pray you don't fall out? Piper wished she could ask the brotherhood some of these things. It would really help for her story later if she could get some inside information.

Maybe she could write up a list of questions for Nathaniel to ask in her stead. Yeah, that would be a great idea as long as he didn't mind. She might need to bribe him with another sweet roll again though.

Nathaniel had taken the gunner seat at Piper's left.

The first clue Piper received that something was wrong was a deeply uncomfortable flip of her stomach when the vertibird jerked the tiniest bit as it lifted up off the roof.

Even though she was perched in the dead center of the aircraft, Piper could easily see the ground beneath them slowly getting smaller and smaller. The further up they went, the worse the sensation in her gut.

Having grown up in the wasteland, then spending her adult life inside the urban Diamond city, meant Piper had never been that far up from the earth. Maybe a few stories, but nothing like this.

Danse was saying something about keeping an eye for threats with the minigun but Piper was barely paying attention. Hearing Danse say that brought a realization to Piper that struck harder than a mini-nuke.

They weren't in an aircraft.

They were in a flying metal coffin.

Being up in the air like they were made them a perfect target for all manner of weapons. Even with Danse and Nathaniel watching the ground with miniguns. At least on the ground you could find some form of cover. Up in the sky there wasn't any.

Piper doubted there was that much armor on the vertibird. It had to be lightweight to fly didn't it? It had to have poor thin armor to be in the air. That meant that almost any gun would be able to bring them down! How much damage could the vertibird actually take before falling back to the earth like a fiery comet?

They were so screwed!

The sudden near panic attack had snagged so much of Piper's focus that she almost didn't realize how close she was to hyperventilating. Her body was growing desperate for fresh air, despite having plenty of it in the sky. It felt like it just wasn't enough. A bout of dizziness was coming on just as fast.

They seemed to still be a ways off from their destination but Piper needed to get off the vertibird and back to the ground right now. She needed... she needed...

Just before all rational thought fled her mind, Piper felt a sudden warmth on her hand.

The woman's head snapped down almost fast enough to cause whiplash. A gloved hand had reached over and softly gripped hers. Piper's eyes followed the connected arm to find it had been Nathaniel who was holding on to her.

Nathaniel was still watching the passing ground below them but held on to Piper with one hand while his other still held the vertibird's gun.

Piper was deeply confused. Surely he wasn't feeling the same fears she was. Nathaniel was almost fearless, Piper had learned that from experience.

The befuddlement cleared when Piper realized Nathaniel's hold was distracting her from their surroundings. There was something about the warmth of his hand in hers that was making much of the panic she felt fade.

It lasted until the aircraft jerked slightly, the pilot banking just a little to make a turn. Just as Piper started to relapse, Nathaniel's hand gripped hers tighter. Almost as if he was reminding her she was alright and that he was right there next to her.

She was mildly grateful Nathaniel wasn't looking at her. If he was, the flush crawling up Piper's neck and cheeks would have been plain to see this close. She would never hear the end of it, the man loved teasing her whenever she stuttered or seemed flustered. The only thing he liked more than teasing her over it was causing it.

Piper was a big girl, she didn't need Nathaniel to...

That thought ground to a halt when the vertibird hit more mild turbulence. Piper's hand seized Nathaniel's in a near death grip before she could even create a single thought.

Breathing was still difficult, but not impossible. The urge to pass out was much more easier to repress now that she could focus on the feel of Nathaniel's hand. Regardless of the reason why, holding onto Nathaniel was making the ride bearable.

Once their vertibird was docked, Piper understood just how much larger it was compared to their tiny aircraft. From out the side windows, she could see many more ports for vertibirds to dock just like theirs was now.

Danse had already dismounted with Nathaniel following right behind him. The second waiting at the edge to help Piper down. This time she almost did need his assistance. The grate that formed the flooring for this area was see-through, allowing Piper to see just how far in the air they were.

At some point after they 'landed', Nathaniel had released his hold on Piper's hand. The lack of warmth and something to lock her mind onto was making Piper's nerves go haywire again.

The only thing that seemed to make her body feel at all better was that they were no longer moving. It was a near hollow comfort to Piper, who was still feeling dizzy each time she looked down at the ground so far beneath them.

"Hey." Nathaniel now looked directly at her, his voice oddly reassuring. "Keep your eyes up, don't look down. Don't even think about it."

Piper did as he said, lifting her gaze from the flooring to meet Nathaniel's. Now that she couldn't see the ground, a little of the queasiness went away.

"There you go. Come on. Time to meet whoever's in charge. We might even be able to swing you an interview later." The combination of Nathaniel's words and smile completely floored Piper. The former sending a chill down Piper's spine she had never noticed before. The latter, that he actually knew her well enough to know she had that idea before telling him, shocked her.

"Hey, Blue? Thanks." Just before Nathaniel turned to follow Danse, Piper whispered while trying her best not to stutter in mild embarrassment.

"No problem." Nathaniel flashed her a small grin. "But don't forget, we do have to ride the vertibird back down. I don't know about you but I'm looking forward to it."

Something about the look in Nathaniel's eyes made Piper question whether he was talking about the actual air ride or something else. The thought made her stomach twist into knots for an entirely different reason than before.

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 **Depending on reception, I have several more ideas for Fallout but this was the one I felt like doing first. Don't know if it came out quite like I wanted but let me know what you all think.**


End file.
